Project Method


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  In order to complete the analysis of WWW sites containing information on J-school graduate student activities, and subsequently develop the UNC J-school G.S.A. site, a comprehensive online information search was completed during the fall semester of 1996. The search was based on the following guidelines:

  1. A UNC-CH Macintosh PowerPC 7500 with approximately 60 Mb of RAM linked on a T1 line was used for the search. Netscape 3.0 was used as the browser. Searches were conducted at various times and days of the week.

  2. For each school with an accredited program, all available search engines were employed to find information on or links to the program. In addition, supplemental searches were performed based on varying combinations of the following commands: communication, mass communication, media, journalism, graduate, students, organizations, associations, clubs, activities.

  3. Once the "official" home page of any program was identified, each internal link was extensively searched. In addition, each university's general student information or student organizations page was completely searched.

  4. If no direct link or home page was found for a particular program, the university's overall site was searched for any information that could be found pertaining to the journalism program and/or its students.

  5. After each site was searched and analyzed, all information available regarding each accredited program's students was recorded on a separate coding sheet.

  6. Upon completion of the coding process, the results were assessed and the findings were reported and summarized. Links were also created to programs that had graduate student organizations, or had other interesting information pertaining to graduate students and their activities.

  7. The findings were then used in developing a research project web site, and a G.S.A. home page.

  8. Each aspect of search process was extensively chronicled for the purpose of writing a professional article on the online information-seeking experience.

      *It is important to note that because the true essence of the project was in experiencing an online search, and in identifying the extent of the current presence of J-School grad students in Cyberspace, the research process was restricted exclusively to the Web.


    Compiled by Greg Makris, PhD Student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication
    UNC-Chapel Hill (c1996)